Edwin Arlington Robinson

Born in Head Tide, Maine, on December 22, 1869, he grew up in nearby Gardiner, a place that later inspired the fictional "Tilbury Town" of many of his poems. After studying for a time at Harvard, he left without graduating and went on writing through years of financial struggle and limited recognition.

His early books brought only modest attention, but support from friends and admirers helped him continue. He eventually became one of the major American poets of the early twentieth century, known especially for dramatic monologues and narrative poems such as Richard Cory, Miniver Cheevy, and Mr. Flood's Party.

Recognition came strongly in his later years. His Collected Poems won the first Pulitzer Prize awarded for poetry, and he would receive the prize three times in all. He died in New York City on April 6, 1935, leaving behind poems that remain notable for their clarity, sadness, and deep understanding of ordinary lives.